In Past Show

Artist Biography:Panteha Abareshi is an illustrator and artist focused on making pieces that accurately capture the realities of mental illness, specifically depression and anxiety. The girls Abareshi draws represent struggle and confusion while also epitomizing strength. There is strength in vulnerability and there is power is admitting you are broken down.

Statement on Artwork:In preparation for this series, I read the bible cover to cover. I wanted to find specific bible verses to accompany each piece, and I also the experience of reading the full length of the scripture would put me in a better headspace to create each piece. I rediscovered verses that I’d once had memorized, and verses that I’d heard quoted so many times in church and by my mother. It was simultaneously cathartic and stressful, but ultimately provided me with the inspiration and motivation to complete each piece.Versus for Mother: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” - Psalm 51:5“I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.” - Ecclesiastes 7:26